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Started this as a conversation place for all " sg 3 " and sg custom owners, or others to post, ask questions, or get information from the other members here.....

just bought a gibson sg 3, and its a heritage cherry like the following picture with a 6 way chicken head knob. Its in really mint condition....i bought it to do studio work but its like a museum piece and thinking i may sell it, pocket some cash, buy another or the faded version of this one...

I believe they made these for one year (2007), and i looked on ebay but don't see any cherry ones, but a few ebony......Have tried to find out how many were made but have been able to get a number yet....

This is better then the sg custom because it has the 6 way chicken head with the ""57"" classic and classic plus pickups.

This guitar is the bomb............lots of different sounds....One of the best gibsons ever made....The "57"s are really great pickups.

Question is how can i determine its value, i looked around online and don't see any information on it...heres the link its the cherry one here...thanks for any help....

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You should just keep it and use it. If you sell it the buyer will just bang it up too. It's not a museum piece and it's not vintage. They're pretty rare but that doesn't mean they're incredibly valuable. Just hold on to it.

Is there a certain sound you're going for that only a 3 pickup SG does?

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Imo p90s sound great for Jethro Tull. I'm not sure whether Barre actually used a guitar with p90s but when I listen to Tull it usually strikes me as having that sound. Also when I crank up some p90s it gives me that sound. Then again my SG does a pretty good job of it too.

Just because a beat up SG3 was listed for 1,200 doesn't mean it sold for that.

I'm not saying the SG3 is a piece of junk. They're pretty cool. I just don't think you need to be so concerned about possibly scratching it that you sell it.

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I've been wondering for a while about the SG i bought in December 09'. It's a "SG S3 Standard" not the "SG S3" line. Its got 3 single coil pick ups intead of humbuckers, and its guitar of the week #10 in 2007. Natural Satin finish. Its basically an S3 with single coils, but for some reason Gibson labeled this model "SG Standard with 3 single coils" instead of S3 like its other models (S3, S3 Specials, etc...) :S...

Even to find pictures of it... there are only a few on google, you tube, craigslist, e-bay etc...

Again, this guitar is basically the same thing as yours, other than the finish, the pickguard and the pickups.

This was a limited run (like all of the 2007 Gibsons)... but not even on you tube i can find someone that owns one. I am not a single coil guy after all, so I am looking to trade it for the S3 red or ebony.

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yes the sg 3 with the humbuckers, not faded, ran about 1700.00 new i believe, the faded are on u ebay for between 400 to 1200, 490 p/u's, and they are a great deal if you can get one for even 600....if you did the math for the pickups, tuners , switch and bridge and tail piece, you'll see to just buy thoses parts is not cheap, and you don't have any wood yet to hook them to. the one you have is 500 to 1000 from what i see..

the sg 3 i listed i have the link to is alot like the custom, but better...it has the 6 way switch the custom has a 3 way.

the custom has a ebony fretboard, but the classic pickups are already bright...the sg 3 haS rosewood.

the custom has a little more inlay, but not much. my point was the sg 3 i linked above is a fantasic value, if you can get one...the one i have i will put up against any sg 3 custom for tone...and its cheaper thats why they only made them a year....they would have killed the sg 3 custom market if they kept making them..but the variety of tones is just unreal..

This guitar cost the original owner $1600.00, + tax of course. I got it for 1000 3 years later. This guitar has exactly the same hardware/Electronic/Neck and Finger Board as yours. (Mine has Antique inlays, yours has Regular Standard Inlays). The difference is the fact that the hardware comes in Gold, not in Chrome. Which means that every gold hardware is about $10 to $20 more expensive. For some reason, both guitars went out for the same price... I saw a SG-3 Ebony like yours go out for the same price as a standard last week at a local shop.

The good thing about this SG is that Gibson wired it so If the owners wanted to change the pickups to Humbuckers they could. But that would cost me money wouldn't it? The thing is, every time I'm enjoying my SG on clean and I switch to hit hard nasty power chords, I feel the Single coils don't have the balls!!! So then I have to switch to my Les Pauls :S... I use to own a ST Standard Heritage Cherry, but something did not convince me of the burstbuckers... So I Exchanged it and paid more for a Les Paul Standard.

This guitar cost the original owner $1600.00, + tax of course. I got it for 1000 3 years later. This guitar has exactly the same hardware/Electronic/Neck and Finger Board as yours. (Mine has Antique inlays, yours has Regular Standard Inlays). The difference is the fact that the hardware comes in Gold, not in Chrome. Which means that every gold hardware is about $10 to $20 more expensive. For some reason, both guitars went out for the same price... I saw a SG-3 Ebony like yours go out for the same price as a standard last week at a local shop.

The good thing about this SG is that Gibson wired it so If the owners wanted to change the pickups to Humbuckers they could. But that would cost me money wouldn't it? The thing is, every time I'm enjoying my SG on clean and I switch to hit hard nasty power chords, I feel the Single coils don't have the balls!!! So then I have to switch to my Les Pauls :S... I use to own a SG Standard Heritage Cherry, but something did not convince me of the combinations of the 490/498's on it. Went out and traded it for a Les Paul Classic Antique... I am loving those Classic 57's... But id love to here how they sound on your SG.

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anyone that likes a sg, really should try one with the chicken head style swith......i have a spider 4 75 watt and the 57s are very powerful, i can give my self a nose bleed with it, lol...

the 57's tend to be bright but can tame that with tone and amp tones controls...i may put the better bumble bee caps on it if i keep it....

i did order the sg faded and should have it today or tommorow, then i have to make decision if i am going to sell the other sg 3 or eat corn flakes for dinner for 3 months...lol the guy i bought this from had one of yours mint for 500 u.s., but i been looking for two years for a mint one so i grabbed the sg3.

The ebony one like mine is on ebay for 1200 (us) buy it now,,,,but the red ones seem to be more rare, and mine is like a new guitar, thats why i i think its worth more then the others....condition is key with the hardcore collectors, unless its real vintage then they may make exceptions...if all factory parts....

now, the 490's i think are good, and to me if i hear a sound close to what i want i will tweak for a few weeks , and usually i can get there if i am close....you could try local craigs lists to trade, but alot of bullshitters there, maybe better to wait for a sg 3 to come to your shop, and sell yours or trade if you can get most of your money back...i am kinda stuck on humbuckers right now......you also may try noise reduction, or some type of processor to get the sg to tame down...

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Why would the seller of your guitar own 2 SG's with 3 pickups?? That wouldn't make sense...

Well your guitar, like mine, is unique... like other special editions or limited runs... but they are not worth more... Maybe it is in the way it is to you because its like a SG Custom design... just without the cool half diamonds design on the head. The price of your guitar goes the same as a regular standard in stores. Remember, the fact that its overpriced on ebay its because ppl aim for more to get the price they really want, just like craigslist... or do bettings starting high.

Here the link to my beautiful SG Standard with 3 single coils... Not "faded" or "special" as you might be confused... A Standard is a Standard and all types of standard regardless of being limited editions go out for the same price. .

These are the 3 single coils SG3 and Special release by gibson taht year for about 800 to 900...:

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... I've been wondering for a while about the SG i bought in December 09'. It's a "SG S3 Standard" not the "SG S3" line. ... There is very' date=' but very little information about this model online ...[/quote']

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Blackie is right I miss my Am strat big time. now i'm bugetly lookin at a crappy mex std. I need one single coil in my arsenal. Or maybe a Melody Maker, whats the consensus? Will I get that hendrix like single coil sound like a strat? I need a cheap (under 500$) axe. But quality for the cash.

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@ mduke22 - I own the SG that you're referring to with the 3 single coil blades & natural satin finish. I have been gigging with it for the last 3 years & I absolutely LOVE it! Like all SGs it's one of the easiest & fastest guitars I've EVER played. My band plays all sorts of stuff from funk, rock, disco, & the 80's, and I have found this guitar to fit right in, even on the heavy stuff. We cover G'nR as well as Ozzy & it TOTALLY keeps up. What amplifier do you use with it? I run through a Bogner Alchemist 40w paired with a Vox 4x12bn. Pedal-wise, I keep it simple with only an Ibanez ts808, Boss bd-2, & a Vox wah, & again I've got tons of punch and usually even have to dial down the bass (on the amplifier). Great guitar, I would hold on to it if I were you, but then again, tone is King & you gotta be happy... Either way, I'm just happy to chat with someone else who has one!

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The gibson sg 3 heritage cherry was 1600 in 2007.....Personally i have never played a sg3 single coil, and i understand the faded are les expensive to make and cost less..

You can change over the pickups if you really like everything else about that guitar, but the 57's are not cheap as you know, and the 6 way switch if you want that is about 40...The bridge is a 57 classic plus.

Or, there is a ebony sg 3 with the pups on ebay right now is at 500. Its also in canada.. now i believe as i said before that these with the chicken head 6 way switchs are under valued, and will be worth more later....The two on ebay now are the first i have seen in a while, since i have been looking...I think if you can get a near mint one for 1000 (us) or under you will never regret it....

but you can always get a gibson sg custom, or a sg 3 like yours on ebay...

That doesn't mean they are not good, means less demand , more product. The sg customs are very much like the sg 3, mine, but the 3 way switch does not work for most people. So why does the sg custom which is almost the exact same guitar as mine, except for a little inlay, and the switch, cost thousands more?....because there is a percieved value, but it also a clue as to why gibson stopped making the sg 3 like mine, they were cutting out a big profit line...the customs

There is another guitar simular to this sitituation, the les paul vintage mahogney studio....i paid 699 for that guitar, faded cherry, but every part on it is the same as the les paul standard...The only difference is the binding which does not affect tone,, and the maple cap (affects tone) and finish...The vm is actually a hollow body electric, which keeps the bb pros a little darker. and is actually based on a black beauty design gibson said...

Gibson sold them like that, but now jacked up the price and lines them up with the regular studios, which is another fine guitar...and they are priced very well for what you get....

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@ Captaingeechpeter - This SG 3 is amazing. I play it through a Fender Twin Reverb. This SG is amazing in tone and design actually... But mostly in clean, its like the perfect sound I can't get from my LP Classic and LP Standard. It has an extreme clean guitar for any fx pedal and it just sounds in between the Strat and Tele... but still with that classic SG sound. I used to own a SG Standard Heritage back in 2006 when i bought it new. I liked it a lot until I tried a LP Standard; and i found out that its not a matter of what sounds better because of the price, but for what your ears like to hear the most. I play the LP Classic almost all the time, but when I need to record that clean/dry/crunchy/Delayish/Chorus sound I just have to pull out that SG, because non of those stand out in the mix sharply and presently as this SG. The regular SG standard that i owned wasn't cutting it enough in the lows and I didn't really dig those 490R/490T humbuckers... I live in Toronto, Canada and believe me, our SG (at least the Natural satin) is very, very rare... that I've only seeing it once in Craigslist/kijiji Canada and US (Search a lot). That means that the people that bought it haven't let it go. Not many people like the SG with single coils, only people that have played that type of guitar before. Its like the "New" different sound of the SG which not everyone accepts right away. The Gibsons single coils has been around I think since the 70's only being released in limited editions... even on LP's. I just feel that it doesn't have the balls when you palm mute like an LP. Its a very versatile guitar, if not the most on electric that I've ever played. Again, I love the guitar, think I will keep it and use it only for particular things when I record.

@ tom brown - I am not craving another SG just because I think this one sucks. No. But I am very curious about the classic 57's on a SG. I guess the Reissues have them. I posted my LP Classic on CL (Which i had got on CL for CAD $1200), I know, what an amazing deal (Equals to $1050 US). Its the LP Classic Antique "Fireburst" GOTW #2 and was curious on what people would give for it. It turns out that one guy wanted to trade his SG Custom Shop 1988 straight for the LP. Its a beautiful guitar and those cost almost $3000 US plus tax. Is this a good trade? what do you think. The only downside from him is that the front of the guitar, there is a nasty orange faded stain which is very obvious... that my downside... what do you guys think?

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@ Tom Brown - I could change the pick ups used on CL for about 100 each... I have the chicken head on mine as well, but... How can I fit the humbuckers on that tiny space wehre the single coils where? I dont get it? Do you know?

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@ Tom Brown - I could change the pick ups used on CL for about 100 each... I have the chicken head on mine as well, but... How can I fit the humbuckers on that tiny space where the single coils are? I don't get it? Do you know?

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i personally would not make that trade, but am not sure what year the standard is, but i notice standard prices for slightly older model are real high, esp. in good condition. And i think as you may know the customs are overrated....don't forget, gibson 's bread and butter used to be the standards and customs before the custom shop stuff came along, and i believe the older standards are higher quality then the ones released today...

The sg you have, i thought you said the body was routed to fit the humbuckers, i think thats gonna be to expensive to do that project....

if your really lusting for the sg 3 with the 57's sneak a bid on the one on ebay, at 670 right now, US, actually in canada, and put in a max bid that you would pay, if you have a dough.....then sell the other sg 3 if you need to.....you will never reget buying that guitar, long as its a good one, and i think it is,,,,the guys really seems pretty anal about the condition which is good...lol

to be honest, since i bought the sg three i sold my g & l , sold the faded sg 3, and don't play the lp much at all....

its a really fine design, get some nice cleans, and some raging overdrive, even country sounds..lol .....the pickups are bright so i am gonna try pure nickel strings next....I played on just the bridge pickup for the last few days, lol, the 57 classic plus is a beast...

As far as that stain take it to a expert, i work with wood at times and certain strong solvents can remove certain stains, but, it can also destroy the finish if the guy is not a expert.....or just play it...........

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I bought this one about 4 mos. ago and I love it. The pic is before I cleaned her up. I wouldn't trade it for a SG-3 custom anyway or anyhow! They were only made in 2007. I got it for $1350 & I am first owner.